From wxow.com: “Local law enforcement undergo tactical emergency medical training” – LA CROSSE – Police officers, firefighters, paramedics and EMTs responded to a mass casualty shooting drill at Western Technical College, Sunday.
It was part of a 40-hour tactical emergency medical support course led by Waukesha County Technical College instructors.
Sunday’s drills included a mass casualty shooting and a downed officer.
“In a mass casualty situation there’s a triage situation that has to happen,” said Jim Hillcoat a La Crosse firefighter and paramedic. He’s taking part in the class.
“There was a danger in the scenario we just did that wasn’t mitigated yet – or we weren’t sure it was mitigated. So, that needed to be dealt with and you have people who need help medically that have traumatic injuries,” Hillcoat said.
The course teaches first responders how to utilize military and emergency medicine under the threat of gunfire, for example, the shootings at the Sikh Temple in Oak Creek, Wis., and the Azana Spa in Brookfield, Wis.
Tactical EMS Instructor Chad Stiles responded to the Azana Spa shooting.
“You never think it’s gonna happen in our community but when it does, we need to really be prepared to give the best response,” Stiles said.
That’s why he’s training law enforcement and EMS to work together in dangerous situations.
“Usually they operate side-by-side, but they’re working independently of each other,” Stiles said. “This class kind of brings them together like a marriage, almost, and teaches them each others objectives.”
The Tactical EMS class is funded by the Wisconsin Office of Justice Assistance and Wisconsin Hospital Emergency Preparedness.
Upon completing the course, EMS responders can submit their training record to the state and get a tactical EMS endorsement with their license, Stiles said.
Dreams come true for local CVTC grads
May 15, 2013
From chippewa.com: “Dreams come true for local CVTC grads” – Eau Claire — Friday night was a dream come true for Lori Hruza of Chippewa Falls and Devyne Gass of Cornell. Their paths were longer and a bit more winding than many of their fellow Chippewa Valley Technical College graduates, but they all came to the same place together: walking across the stage to receive their diplomas.
Hruza, 42, and Gass, 45, received associate degrees in nursing. They are now well prepared to pass their exams and become registered nurses, opening up greater career opportunities than they have experienced before in their lives.
“Dreams do come true,” said Hruza. “I always wanted to do nursing, and after my third child I decided to go back to school.“
Hruza has been many places in her adult life, as her husband pursued a military career. She worked in child care and taught preschool, at one point in Hawaii. But she always dreamt of becoming a nurse.
“It’s interesting learning about the human body, and I always enjoyed helping people,” she said. It became easier to pursue her dream after her children were older, and she chose CVTC’s nursing program.
Now, ready to enter the nursing profession and after seven years living in Chippewa Falls, she’s excited about a new adventure. “We’re moving to Hawaii!” she said.
Gass has already been working as a licensed practical nurse at a nursing home in Ladysmith. She attended Northcentral Technical College in Wausau some years ago for that training. She’s been wanting to advance her career.
“I wanted to get into a school that’s closer,” she said. “But it took a while to get back into the program.“
Now she’s on the verge of being an RN. It won’t mean an immediate change of scenery for her, but Gass knows it will open up many more employment possibilities.
“It’s been a long time coming,” she said.
That feeling was shared by hundreds of people at UW-Eau Claire’s Zorn Arena, which hosts the CVTC graduation each fall and spring.
CVTC honored 626 graduates in 47 different programs Friday night, with 375 graduates receiving associate degrees and 251 receiving technical diplomas. On Thursday night, CVTC honored 67 graduates at its River Falls campus, including 60 receiving associate degrees and seven receiving technical diplomas.
The most popular programs among this spring’s graduates were nursing, with 60 graduates, criminal justice/law enforcement with 54 graduates, and business management with 53.
Among the graduates was Randi Johnson of Eau Claire, in the dental hygienist program, who was chosen as the student speaker. She urged the graduates to get out of their comfort zones.
“Being willing to step out of our comfort zones led us here,” she said. “Now that we’ve gotten to this point in life, we should push ourselves to keep improving. We will feel uncomfortable in the future, whether it’s in an interview for our dream job or buying our first house. But the moments where we feel unsure usually turn out to be the ones that change our lives and help define who we are.“
Featured speaker Paul Gabriel, executive director of the Wisconsin Technical College District Boards Association, put a new twist on the notion of wishing graduates “good luck.“
“For years, I’ve heard graduates refer to themselves as ’lucky’ to have made it here,” he said. “But, what’s luck really got to do with it? … If you feel fortunate to be here, it’s not luck at all. It’s the success that you have created for yourself.“
From fox11online.com: “Preparation key in search for missing” – FOND DU LAC – Investigators say having a plan in place to deal with an abduction before it happens is key.
“If something is going to happen, it’s going to happen in the first 24 hours and the quicker we can get on it, the quicker we can get the information out to the general public, the better chance we have of resolving it,” said Lt. Cameron McGee with the Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Dept.
McGee says having that plan in place helps allocate resources to the search effort quickly and effectively.
“These things have a tendency to explode very quickly and if we have a plan in place up front, it’s easier to manage, easier to do that because these things they get very big, very fast.”
It’s the kind of training Fox Valley Technical College’s Criminal Justice Training Center provides. Center director Brad Russ trains law enforcement officers on search techniques in missing persons cases.
“Time is of the essence. When we do our training, we talk about the need to mobilize everyone immediately,” said Russ.
McGee say technology helps spread the word of possible abductions quicker than ever before.
“We have Amber Alerts now, we have the resources of the National Center for the Missing and Exploited, other agencies out there today that we didn’t have back then, 10, 20 years ago.”
And Lt. McGee has a warning for those who would even think about harming children…don’t do it in Fond du Lac County.
“If that means calling in state resources or federal resources or whatever it takes, at least around here these cases are dealt with in the absolute highest priority. We have to tolerate a lot of things around here, but when it comes to messing with our children, we don’t have any tolerance for that whatsoever.”
Each February, Fox Valley Tech hosts a national missing persons conference.
The FBI’s most recent report indicates 87,000 active missing persons cases; more than one third of them are children.
NTC shows off Merrill Public Safety campus
April 25, 2013
From waow.com: “NTC ribbon cutting for Merrill Public Safety Campus” – A ribbon cutting took place in Merrill for the new Public Safety Campus. The project provides real-life experience for first responders.
It includes a village with storefronts and streets.
In a command center, there are monitors that keep track of remote control targets and play recorded sound effects, like a person screaming or a dog barking. NTC leaders say it aimed at making the training as realistic as possible.
Two years ago, the original campus was destroyed by a tornado that hit Merrill. At the time, North Central Technical College was in the process of revamping the campus. The tornado gave school leaders an opportunity to make the campus much larger.
The two million dollar project is the result of insurance payments on the original facility, as well as community donations and money from the NTC Foundation.
For more info check out www.ntc.edu
Thousands set to use NTC’s new Merrill campus
April 23, 2013
From wausaudailyherald.com: “Thousands set to use NTC’s new Merrill campus” – Two years after a tornado flattened Northcentral Technical College’s emergency services campus, it is reopening as a state-of-the-art facility that will train thousands of central Wisconsin emergency workers every year.
Associate Dean of Public Safety Bryce Kolpack said that more than 1,000 emergency workers already will have used the campus between March 1 and May 1, and he expects that number to continue growing as the center celebrates its official re-opening Wednesday.
“We’re hoping to be able to provide training for all of northern Wisconsin, including the 10 counties that are part of NTC’s district,” he said. Those counties include all or parts of Clark, Langlade, Lincoln, Marathon, Menominee, Portage, Price, Shawano, Taylor and Waupaca counties.
Those public safety workers will get their training at a $2 million Public Safety Center of Excellence that comprises three main components: a 300-foot by 500-foot paved area for emergency operations training; a half-mile stretch of roadway that will have various surfaces and turns for emergency vehicle training; and an emergency village, which will contain four buildings.
The old facility, destroyed when a tornado whipped through the Merrill area in April 2011, had only a classroom building and a separate facility in which firefighters learned to fight fires. NTC already had been planning an expansion of the facility, and the tornado provided the perfect opportunity to start construction, Public Relations coordinator Jennifer Johnson said.
The school’s insurance carrier covered $1.8 million of the construction. Donations from 11 local businesses totaling $110,000 helped keep costs down, Johnson said. Each of those businesses will have its name on a storefront in the emergency village. The NTC Foundation also contributed $35,000.
Training activities in the emergency village and on the vehicle-training track can be monitored from the command tactical operations center, which is outfitted with technology that controls training targets and digital recording throughout the village and track. This training environment allows full-darkness, night-time activities that simulate the conditions most police officers confront on late-shift assignments.
Several local units already have used the campus, including local police and sheriff’s departments and the state Crime Lab, which offered a class last week on collecting evidence at crime scenes. Representatives from at least 15 central and northern Wisconsin law enforcement departments attended the class, including police and sheriff’s departments from a large swath of the state, from Portage County north to Forest County.
Marathon County Sheriff’s Deputy Randy Hansen, who took part in that class, said the new facility offers better options for required in-service training than the facilities NTC had to use in the past.
“It keeps you sharp and keeps your skills honed,” he said.
Hansen, who has been with the Sheriff’s Department for five years, said deputies used to practice pursuit training at one of the parking lots at NTC’s Wausau campus, but the lot’s size and light poles meant they couldn’t practice at high speeds. The expansion allows trainees to “open up the throttle a bit,” he said.
But the facility will be open to more than just public safety personnel. Kolpack said the college also plans to offer training for new owners of recreational vehicles and skid training for new drivers who haven’t experienced winter driving.
The center also will feature mock campgrounds and deer stands for rural police training, as well as a search and rescue building. The college already is planning for additional training features on site, including a collapsed building prop, rail car props and an indoor shooting range.
From fox6now.com: “WCTC’s Criminal Justice Dean Brian Dorow on Boston bombings” – Brian Dorow is the Dean of Criminal Justice at Waukesha County Technical College.
Dorow appeared on FOX6 News following the explosions at the Boston Marathon to talk about law enforcement’s response to a mass tragedy.
NTC opens revamped public safety training center
April 8, 2013
From wausaudailyherald.com: “NTC opens revamped public safety training center” – Northcentral Technical College is expanding its presence in Merrill after a devastating tornado hit the campus in April 2011. The revitalized Public Safety Center of Excellence offers advanced training in a technically integrated and realistic environment. The 36-acre site is located on the edge of the city of Merrill, an area rich with a natural environment suitable for multiple uses including water rescue and wilderness training.
“After the tornado, we evaluated current and future public safety training needs to ensure our Center of Excellence provides the highest level of hands-on tactical training for public safety professionals,” said Lori Weyers, president of Northcentral Technical College. “Because of the unique and varying training we will be able to offer, we expect several thousand public safety personnel a year to gain practical, hands-on experience right here in Merrill.”
The NTC Public Safety Center of Excellence provides state-of-the-art training for public safety personnel and positions NTC as a leader in the Midwest for emergency management training. The fire training area features a utility training area with five unique props, leak detection field, burn tower, splash tower and extrication pad, as well as confined space and flashover simulation trailers. The Emergency Village replicates local business storefronts on a simulated multi-block street to provide real-life training scenarios for emergency responders. Adjacent to the Emergency Village is an Emergency Vehicle Operations Course, or EVOC, featuring traffic signal lights and light poles mounted with cameras. Training activities in the Emergency Village and on the EVOC track can be monitored from the Command Tactical Operations Center, which is outfitted with technology that controls training targets and digital recording throughout the village and track. This training environment allows full-darkness, night-time activities that simulate the conditions most police officers confront on late-shift assignments.
“This facility will allow learners to bridge the gap between classroom discussion and actual emergency management situations by simulating critical events without the inherent risks of actual hazardous materials and exposure to severe weather conditions,” said Bryce Kolpack, NTC Dean of Public Safety.
The center also will feature mock campgrounds and deer stands for rural police training, as well as a search and rescue building. The college already is planning for additional training features on site, including a collapsed building prop, rail car props and an indoor shooting range.
Training is already under way at the revitalized Public Safety Center of Excellence, with a ribbon-cutting celebration slated for April 24. The community is invited to tour the facility at an open house after the ribbon-cutting from noon to 2 p.m.
For more information on the Public Safety Center of Excellence, visit www.ntc.edu or call 715-675-3331.
CVTC instructor honored by Girl Scouts
April 4, 2013
From chippewa.com: “Girl Scouts honor CVTC instructor Judi Anibas” – EAU CLAIRE – When Judi Anibas overheard an inappropriate comment during one of the classes she teaches at Chippewa Valley Technical College’s (CVTC) Law Enforcement Academy, she thought it was time for a quick real-world exercise.
The 25-year veteran of the Eau Claire Police Department had all of the students privately write down the names of four women who they loved and respected and were important in their lives. Then she asked the (mostly male) class if they would ever make such a comment to or about one of those women.
“There was dead silence,” Anibas says. She went on to insist that no such comments would be heard again in that class, and she didn’t need to know who made it. The students, like the law enforcement officers they aspire to become, are to be held to the highest standards of integrity, and sensitivity to the members of the public they serve.
Upholding standards in such a way is one of the reasons the Girl Scouts of the Northwestern Great Lakes honored Anibas at its annual Women of Courage, Confidence and Character banquet Monday evening, April 1. The award honors area women who demonstrate a commitment to serving their communities and embody the Girl Scout mission of building girls of courage, confidence and character.
Anyone who knows Judi Anibas will agree that she has those qualities, and a look at her career shows her commitment to serving the community.
Originally from Milwaukee, the UW-Platteville criminal justice program graduate took the first law enforcement job offered to her, with the city of Eau Claire. She was put on a walking beat in the Water Street area, an area with taverns frequented by the local college crowd.
“You see more because you’re on foot,” she recalls. There were enough problems to deal with, including motorcycle gangs and drugs, but she also got to know the local residents and business owners and learned to listen to their concerns.
“Doing that really assisted me later when I had an inside job in crime prevention,” Anibas says.
In the following years, Anibas took on just about every duty that comes the way of a law enforcement officer. She was a patrol officer for nine years, spent four years as a detective and then went back to patrol. She learned to deal with child abuse, sexual assault, domestic violence cases and so much more, both as an officer responding to calls and as a detective investigating them.
That role of being the one catching the bad guys held much satisfaction for her, but so did the other duties she took on over the years. She became a hostage negotiator, firearms instructor, evidence technician, community policing specialist and eventually law enforcement instructor.
Anibas says she particularly liked working with community organizations and neighborhood watch groups. She came to appreciate the value of listening, and learned that what people often wanted from their police force was different from what police themselves thought of their duties.
“Wherever I worked I enjoyed myself,” she says. “But it was great to meet people who really enjoyed their community and had respect for the police.
“The cool thing is I can use all of that today when I teach community policing,” she added.
Anibas joined CVTC in 1992 as an instructor and became full time in 2006. She became Dean of the Law Enforcement and other areas, is still working as an instructor in the program, and as a safety instructor for the Business and Industry team.
She has as much enthusiasm for teaching as she does for law enforcement. “It’s inspirational, knowing that with the experience I’ve had I can give back to students.”
Anibas has been generous with her time outside of work as well. Anibas served as president of the board of directors for the Wisconsin Association of Women Police, Eau Claire Police Benevolent Association, Eau Claire Police Local 9, and Eau Claire Police Supervisors Local 39. She has been involved with Indianhead Special Olympics, Big Brothers Big Sisters, and is the current president of the Epilepsy Foundation of Western Wisconsin board of directors.
MSTC students give back to community
April 2, 2013
From marshfieldnewsherald.com: “Column: MSTC students give back to community” – Winter is ending — I am sure of it! Well, almost sure. Despite the weather, Mid-State Technical College students have been actively engaged in our communities, demonstrating service learning at its finest. MSTC students and employees positively impact hundreds, possibly thousands, of lives each year through volunteerism and service learning.
Service learning is a method of instruction that combines classroom knowledge and skills with real-world experience through community service. Many MSTC students engage in service learning and charitable activities, demonstrating that a technical college education not only provides students with the skills they need to succeed in the workforce, but also community spirit to be valuable contributors to central Wisconsin.
The number of MSTC community projects is too great to list them all, but I’d like to share a sample of the spirit of giving among our students.
Many MSTC programs arrange service learning to help meet specific community needs. For instance, the Early Childhood Education, or ECE, Club filled pillowcases with pajamas, toys, personal hygiene items and games for children who have been removed from their home due to possible neglect or abuse. Mid-State Student Nurses Association, or MSNA, sponsors an on-campus blood drive every semester.
Students also are quick to address tragic events and previously unforeseen needs. Corrections students sponsored a walk that raised $9,800 to assist a local family with their child’s medical expenses. The same group of students is raising money for the family of an Adams County deputy injured in the line of duty.
Student projects also increase awareness and educate. Students Environmentally United for a Sustainable Society, or SEUSS, a club made up of students from MSTC’s five renewable energy programs and the Urban Forestry program, regularly promote environmental sustainability through a variety of events and charitable giving. In one instance, the SEUSS club recently bought and prepared locally grown foods and served dinner to about 180 people at The Neighborhood Table in Wisconsin Rapids. MSTC law enforcement students mentor local high school students and members of the community through the police academies.
I am humbled and inspired by these outstanding and selfless acts of kindness. Generosity and service learning are truly a part of our culture at MSTC. The student club concept fosters self-improvement by providing opportunities to develop leadership qualities, social awareness, occupational understanding and civic consciousness. Development of these skills helps students discover new interests, make connections, and enhance opportunities for employment — all while positively impacting their future employers and the fabric of our communities.
Police and EMS prepare for the worst
March 25, 2013
From wsaw.com: “Simulating an unthinkable tragedy” – The campus of Midstate Technical College appears quiet and peaceful on this Sunday afternoon when suddenly the calm is broken by the sounds of a simulated chaos.
This was a day in which police officers and EMS personnel could train for the unthinkable. While first responders are trained frequently about how to handle these situations, today was an opportunity for them to put the skills they have learned into a real world scenario.
“We are teaching the police officers how to take care of themselves and their partners if they get injured. It is also to be able to treat the public in mass casualty situations where people need to be rapidly treated and extricated out to the various hospital facilities around the state.” said event organizer Chad Stiles.
The training involved three separate scenarios including a shooting at a church, a school, as well as a bomb situation. Even the Aspirus medical helicopter was on hand to aid in the training process.
The program was put on by the Waukesha County Technical College, which has a class teaching first responders how to act in mass casualty situations. They are taking training around the state to reach many different police and fire departments. Since Waukesha County Technical College is located just one town over from the site of two recent mass shootings, today’s training hits home for many of its leadership staff.
“Me and my partner co-instructor were actually at the Azana Spa shooting. So, for us those kind of events have happened in our back door. We are trying to bring forth the knowledge we have learned in these events.” Stiles said.
As jarring as it may be to see these scenes play out, we can be thankful that todays guns were made of plastic, the blood was nothing more than red tape, and that the screams for help were made by actors. However today’s training does prove that if the unimaginable was ever to happen in Central Wisconsin, those we trust most to uphold the peace would be able to restore it as soon as possible.
Gateway Tech proposed public safety training facility could cut costs for law enforcement
March 19, 2013
From journaltimes.com: “Gateway asks voters for go-ahead on $15.6M public safety training facility” – RACINE COUNTY — In both size and scope, a new state-of-the-art public safety training center sits atop the list of projects included in the $49 million referendum proposed by Gateway Technical College.
As the most expensive single item in the proposal, school officials say the $15.6 million facility would not only provide better instruction to new officers and deputies but also draw in more experienced first responders, from southeastern Wisconsin and beyond, looking for specialized training in areas like tactical driving and active shooter situations.
In 2007, the college opened its law enforcement academy after renovating portions of their Kenosha campus at 3520 30th Ave. It offers programs for both incoming officers and deputies who are required by the state to undergo 520 hours of training as well as to veteran officers.
Racine Police Chief Art Howell said that his department currently sends its new officers to the academy but sparingly uses the facilities in Kenosha to provide specialized training to its veteran officers.
“We send people all over the state now and it’s expensive to do that,” Howell said. “Obviously if we had a high-caliber institution around here it would be cost effective for us to use that.”
Renovating the current campus back in 2007 meant converting a basement storage room into a five-lane, 50-foot shooting range and holding Emergency Vehicle Operations Course (EVOC) training in the parking lot at Dairyland Greyhound Park in Kenosha.
The current proposal calls for a new 24-lane, 150-foot shooting range and an on-site driving course complete with simulated intersections, street lights and highway ramps.
Sturtevant Police Chief Sean Marschke said that veteran officers in the state are required to undergo 24 hours of annual training, some of which is done in-house, but also must take four hours of biennial tactical driving training. That has meant sending officers out to technical colleges in Waukesha or Fox Valley.
“A lot of things they’re planning on doing are already being done around the state but just aren’t available here locally,” Marschke said. “With training budgets in a crunch and gas almost $4 a gallon, sending officers to other spots in the state just gets very, very expensive.”
A final location for the facility has not been selected yet, according to Gateway’s President Bryan Albrecht, but sites in Racine, Kenosha and Walworth counties are also being investigated. Voters in those counties will vote on the referendum April 2.
Marschke said that regardless of what county is selected, it would likely mean a 50 percent reduction in the costs associated with sending an officer to training like gas, lodging and overtime pay.
The proposal would also replace the current simulated city, composed of a couple storefronts, with a three-block simulated city. A new facility would also enable the college to build labs for crime scene investigation, something not currently offered in Kenosha.
Racine County Sheriff Chris Schmaling wrote in an email that he is very pleased with the current training Gateway provides but would benefit from a closer facility and additional course offerings. Mount Pleasant Police Chief Tim Zarzecki also said that he is in support of expanding training at Gateway.
An expanded physical training area and a larger, dedicated classroom may also mean adding an additional class at the school, according to Provost Zina Haywood.
Albrecht said he doesn’t anticipate finding any problems with filling another class because of the number of applicants the college already turns away, in part because state statute caps classes at 24 students and some of the facilities are shared by other programs on the Kenosha campus.
Overall, the college has estimated that a new facility would lead to a 15 percent increase in enrollment and could not only help keep local officers from going elsewhere but could mean other revenue coming from agencies outside of the district.
Marschke said that he agrees and would like to see the area become a training hub like the counties he currently sends his officers to.
“It’s really a good opportunity to have something here locally for our law enforcement that serves our residents to have a state-of-the-art training facility,” Marschke said. “I think we’ll draw agencies outside of the district as well.”
From wbay.com: “NWTC looks to train students to identify human trafficking” – Northeast Wisconsin Technical College is exploring ways to help train students in fields like law enforcement how to be on the look out for the signs of human trafficking.
Becky McDonald is the co-founder of Women at Risk International, an organization that raises awareness about human trafficking.
“It is not a foreign problem, it is not an intercity problem, it is not an ethnicity problem, it’s a human condition problem,” explained McDonald.
Staff on Northeast Wisconsin Technical College’s campus have been selling jewelry made by survivors through Women at Risk International and raised $6,000 which goes directly back to those survivors.
Those involved say they had no idea human trafficking hit so close to home.
“It’s been amazing. People who’ve seen the sale and have come up and told us stories of people they know. It’s just been amazing and alarming at the same time,” said NWTC regional manager, Sarah Nelson.
The founder of Women at Risk International is meeting with NWTC staff and professors to find out how students going into things like human services and law enforcement can be better trained to look for the signs of human trafficking.
“How, as a lawyer or law enforcement, do you look at the person as a victim and not a criminal? How do you interview instead of interrogate?” asked McDonald.
Right now students don’t get that kind of specific training.
“When they see something that doesn’t make sense, they haven’t been empowered by the law to address it, they haven’t been empowered with resources and they don’t even know what they’re seeing,” explained McDonald.
NWTC hopes to organize a training program that could be used statewide.
Demand drives need for new dispatcher training course
March 6, 2013
From wbay.com: “Demand drives need for new dispatcher training course” – Brown County -Action 2 News has learned plans are underway for a new partnership with the Brown County Communications Center, local law enforcement, and Northeast Wisconsin Technical College.
They’re teaming up to create what they’re calling the area’s first dispatcher certification program.
It’s partly in response to a problem we first told you about back in October, after several dispatchers at the Brown County 911 Center walked off the job, fed up with scheduling issues, overtime, and stress.
At the time, the center was down six full-time dispatchers — about 10 percent of its staff.
The county brought in representatives from the police, fire, and sheriff’s departments to look at the problems and recommend solutions. Employees told them one of the biggest concerns is training.
Now the dispatch center and school are working to start a new training program.
Before Brown County dispatchers ever answer your 911 call or talk to police or fire crews on their own, they undergo three months of intense on-the-job training.
It’s stressful work, and some people are simply not cut out for it. Dispatchers have a national turnover rate of 18 percent a year.
“In our case, that would be anywhere from 10 to 12 people a year that we potentially could lose. And training 10 to 12 people a year for 13 weeks out of the year is an extensive amount of training,” says Brown County Communications Center Interim Director Cullen Peltier.
At the suggestion of law enforcement, NWTC realized a need for what it says would be the area’s first dispatcher certification program, and just a few weeks ago agreed to create it.
“Basically what we’re doing is just giving them very, very basic fundamental skills with regards to dispatching,” says John Flannery, NWTC Criminal Justice Instructor.
Flannery just became certified to teach this new course, a sort of basic training, so dispatchers don’t start a new job feeling blindfolded.
“When I was in law enforcement full time, I didn’t really understand until I went through the training myself the kind of stress that dispatchers have to put up with,” says Flannery.
They’re still working out all the details of the class, but the school hopes to start it as soon as early summer, with 25 to 30 students enrolled right away.
“Shortening up anything for us would be great because it’s time, it’s training effort, it’s dollars that we spend on the trainees while they’re doing the training program, so anything is a benefit to us,” says Peltier.
While the certification won’t be required, Peltier thinks it will make a big difference.
“It’s going to be a good program for the people that are coming through it,” he says.
Peltier says since September, the county has been slowly filling vacancies and has hired 14 new employees. He hopes to be at full staffing of 62 dispatchers in April.
Fighting Internet crime at Fox Valley Technical College
February 20, 2013
From fox11online.com: “Fighting Internet crime at Fox Valley Technical College” – GRAND CHUTE – The fight against Internet crimes involving children is getting a renewed boost from the federal government.
It keeps up to $25 million over four years flowing into a program at Fox Valley Technical College.
Each dot on this map represents someone logged on to a child pornography site. Brad Russ says there are hundreds nationwide and beyond.
“You can see the magnitude of the problem,” said Brad Russ, director of the Criminal Justice Training Center at FVTC.
The program is called “Round-up.” It’s part of the ongoing effort to stay ahead of would-be offenders.
“Now, they can access material anywhere in the world very rapidly. Everybody’s got web cams now. It’s a lot more prevalent problem I think than it ever used to be,” said Russ.
Russ runs the National Criminal Justice Training Center at Fox Valley Technical College in Grand Chute. A federal grant from the Child Protection Act of 2012 pays for the program, and training for officers.
During a recent training session, Appleton Police Department Sergeant Polly Olson went undercover, posing as a mother of two young girls.
Olson said it didn’t take long to get a response.
“He was approaching me. He wanted to travel, to meet my kids in exchange for some sex with my kids,” said Sgt. Olson.
Olson tracked the number to a sex offender in Wyoming.
“They were able to pick him up, and are actually prosecuting him for that offense,” said Olson.
In the last two years, the Internet Task Force has made 4,000 arrests, executed more than 6,000 search warrants, and saved 84 children from abusive situations.
Congressmen Reid Ribble voted for the initiative.
“As a parent, and grand parent, protecting children matters to every single family,” said Rep. Reid Ribble, R-8th District.
“That’s the thing that we’re all working towards, is how to interdict these crimes before they happen, or help children who have been victimized.”
In the task force’s 15 years, it has assisted in 33,000 arrests for suspected computer crimes against children.
That’s on average half a dozen a day.
Law enforcement recruiters come to FVTC
February 13, 2013
From nbc26.com: “Job fair focuses on valley trained police officers” – APPLETON – Police departments from across the state are in Appleton looking for the next generation of crime fighters.
Law enforcement recruiters say shrinking budgets are limiting the number of new officer positions. As a result, new recruits are being held to higher standards than in years past in what has become a very competitive job market.
Hundreds of students came to Fox Valley Technical College to speak one on one with police recruiters from dozens of agencies.
Steven Kincaid is in the midst of a career change, making the rounds at the job fair.
The 43 year old FVTC criminal justice has a background in computer forensics.
“I wanted to apply my knowledge in computers to fighting computer crime, internet crime, and all that goes along with that,” Kincaid said.
The college’s 10th annual recruiting event features about 25 departments from across the state.
Departments are on the lookout for officers to help curb cyber crime.
“Having a background like that it’s as important as having a second language, if somebody can speak a second language we’re also looking for those kinds of skills, said Sgt. Dave Lund of the Appleton police department.
For future officers like Kincaid, these types of networking experiences with police agencies are invaluable.
Each police recruiter speaks with between 20 and 50 potential officers during the 4 hour job fair.
The college will soon offer a class specializing in cyber crime. It’s called “Financial Fraud Detection” will be offered for the first time this fall.
Gateway to take $49 million plan to voters
January 16, 2013
From kenoshanews.com: “Gateway to take $49 million plan to voters” – A new campus building would be planned for Gateway Technical College to house a public safety and training center if voters approve a $49 million referendum in April.
Officials have been looking at possible sites for the facility in Kenosha, Racine and Walworth counties, said Zina Haywood, college vice president and provost. The Gateway district includes those counties.
The goal is to build the new campus in the center of the district, she said.
The college board on Monday approved putting the referendum on the ballot.
Haywood didn’t have the estimated number of acres for the site. She did say the location would be home to the 30,000 square-foot public safety building with facilities including a driving track for emergency vehicle operators to practice and a mock city street for responders to act out emergencies, at a cost of $15.5 million.
The building would include classrooms, an indoor shooting range and a technical lab.
The referendum question, on the April 2 general election ballot, would ask district taxpayers to approve borrowing to pay for the new campus and other projects. Voters must give their approval for going into debt by $49 million because the school is at its borrowing limit, officials have said.
Haywood said the tax increase from referendum approval was estimated to be $9.73 on a $100,000 home each of the next 20 years.
The anticipated additional cost to operate the new and expanded facilities was about $390,000, Haywood said. That spending will have to come from budget cuts or increased income other than taxes because the state has frozen all 16 state technical colleges’ operating budget tax levies, she added.
Kenosha campus projects would total $7.8 million and include renovations for academic support services; adding a studio for the interior design program, and making way for the district’s barbering program to expand onto the campus.
The borrowed money also would pay for:
– Elkhorn campus construction for new or expanded programs for veterinary technician, barbering, cosmetology, culinary arts, food manufacturing lab and computer numerical control students, $13.6 million.
– Racine campus work to house the fresh water lab, now on the college’s Sturtevant site, and renovating office space, $2.5 million.
– Districtwide energy projects and expansion of the administration center, $7.3 million.
Officials have said the public safety center is needed because police science classes are being taught in a former welding lab, and high-speed pursuit techniques are practiced at the former Dairyland Greyhound Park parking lot.
June 2013 would be the earliest any projects might begin. The public safety center is the largest effort and could take 18 to 24 months to complete, Haywood predicted.
The Wisconsin Technical College System Board will review the plans for its approval at its March meeting.
Gateway has three sites in Kenosha, two in Burlington and one each in Racine and Sturtevant.
NTC receives donation to Emergency Village training project
October 29, 2012
From wifc.com: “NTC receives donation to Emergency Village training project” – Northcentral Technical College is getting a donation to install state-of-the-art law enforcement training equipment at the Merrill campus. A check presentation ceremony starts at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday morning at Church Mutual Insurance.
NTC’s Emergency Village project will use the funding to provide moving target training equipment, including tactical targets and robots. Police Science and Emergency Medical Service students will face real-time, computer- simulated situations that all public safety workers must know how to handle in a safe and controlled environment.
Campus President Lori Weyers expects several thousand public safety personnel a year to gain practical, hands-on experience at the Merrill center. The Emergency Village project is expected to be fully operational for training by next spring.
NWTC president reflects on 100 years of education
September 28, 2012
From greenbaypressgazette.com: “Guest column: NWTC turns 100, continues key educational mission” – Happy 100th birthday, Northeast Wisconsin Technical College.
A century ago, NWTC was born upon the creation of local boards of industrial education overseeing continuation and trade schools.
In 1912, it was the exception to have graduated from high school. Yet, the country was in the beginning of massive industrialization that begged for higher and more complex skills.
In a 1927 publication of the Green Bay Board of Vocational Education, it was noted that: “A rapidly changing world forces the American citizen — to face the constantly changing problems and difficulties of an almost kaleidoscopic environment. Even the individual himself is in a ceaseless process of change in his employment, his attitudes and ambitions, his social contacts, his interests and opportunities.”
This phrase is as relevant today as it was almost 85 years ago. The difference is that now most people have a high school diploma, and the minimum requirement for gaining a career with a living wage is education beyond high school.
I am struck, when looking at pictures of students in classes in the beginning decades of NWTC’s history, how many men came to school wearing ties. Wearing a tie spoke of a relatively high status. Attending the Green Bay Vocational School increased your social status. In fact, in the late 1920s a Green Bay Vocational School publication was subtitled The University of the Adult.
Sadly, today, too many times we have heard a graduating high school student say when asked about post-high school plans, “I am just going to the tech.” How many times have we watched community college students demeaned on television comedies, by stand-up comics, or in popular music? What happened?
The importance and status of a higher education technical degree was overtaken by the assumption that the only way to achieve the American Dream is to have a four-year college degree. Don’t get me wrong, achieving a bachelor’s degree or higher is a worthy endeavor and we encourage students to aspire to these degrees. But the vast majority of careers do not require more than a two-year technical associate degree. In fact:
• Two-thirds of students who have an associate degree in a STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) field will earn more than someone with a bachelor’s degree. The overlap of lifetime wages between all associate degree and bachelor degree holders is in the range of 80 percent.
• Many CEOs and business leaders started their careers with an associate degree. Associate degree holders are excellent problem-solvers, have outstanding team and people skills, and have a clear understanding of the world around them.
• Associate degree students graduate with new learning skills and practices that they will use throughout their lives as they keep pace with rapid business and industry changes.
Some think that the rigor and complexity of the education is somehow less than that learned at a four-year college. Actually, hundreds of adults with bachelor’s degrees come to NWTC each year to train for new careers, and they often comment that the intensity and difficulty of the course work is greater than what they experienced while pursuing the bachelor’s degree.
Rapid technological and business process changes require ever higher levels of competency that can only be obtained through applied learning techniques — and applied learning has always been the specialty of Wisconsin’s Technical Colleges. How many of us can design and program a machine that operates on four or five axes? Do you know what to do when a person has a heart attack or is bleeding profusely? I cannot develop a website that will attract someone to a new product, can you? Successfully de-escalating a domestic violence situation is beyond my capability. Never mind fixing a car, installing an electrical system, or repairing infrastructure after a catastrophic event.
We are surrounded each day by highly educated NWTC graduates. We bring them our illnesses, our design challenges, our security needs and our ambitious plans, and they return skilled solutions. They are the firefighters, EMTs, child care providers, network analysts and other specialists who make nearly every area of our economy — and our personal lives — run more efficiently. An education like that is something to be proud of, to celebrate and honor. Join me as we salute our students and celebrate our widespread community support.
Happy birthday, NWTC. Thank you for remaining committed to preparing all people to lead fulfilling lives, earning a living wage. You will achieve your vision of being a cutting-edge, life-long learning college that transforms, strengthens, and inspires our people, our families, our businesses, and our communities for another 100 years.
Police officers train at WCTC for “active shooter” situations
September 18, 2012
From fox11nonline.com: “Officers train for scenarios after Sikh shooting” – PEWAUKEE – The Sikh Temple shooting is changing the way police officers train. Some are getting a “refresher course” in dealing with active shooters.
It’s a scenario no law enforcement officer can predict, but if or when it happens, quick action is all it takes to put down an active shooter.
At the Waukesha County Technical College, a dozen officers from agencies across southeast Wisconsin got a refresher course on how to handle the most dangerous situations.
“I can’t emphasize training, training, training. They come to us with various levels of experience and training. and it’s our job to elevate their training,” says Brian Dorow, dean of WCTC’s criminal justice program.
One situation involves a resisting suspect and how to apprehend and handcuff them.
“It’s what we call diminishing skill sets. if you don’t practice them, you may not be as sharp as when you have to do it,” says Dorow.
Another involves clearing a staircase where a suspect may be hiding.
“There’s a skill set as well as a technique to clearing a staircase. We call that metering,” says Dorow.
The most relevant skill is dealing with an ambush situation.
After the Sikh Temple shooting, instructors say it’s the most important training.
“What we’re putting the officers in is the most realistic situation so that their heart rate is elevated. They’re processing it like it could happen anywhere else. It makes them so much better when they’re out on the street,” says Dorow.
This training is part of a rotating 17-week training. By the end of it, instructors will have trained close to 3,000 officers throughout southeast Wisconsin.
CVTC grad is new Arcadia police chief
September 17, 2012
From weau.com: “Arcadia Police Department makes historic hire” – After graduating from UW-Stout and CVTC, 28-year-old Diana Anderson is taking on the role of new mother and police chief.
“This is something that I’ve strived to do in my career. I didn’t think it would happen this early in my career,” said Diana Anderson, Arcadia Police Chief.
The Independence native worked in the Arcadia Police Department for more than five years after working in Dunn County and she says she wants to help people.
“I’ve always wanted to give back to the community and help out the community. A lot of times within our job were seen as the people who hand out tickets,” said Anderson.
Diana says although she has a lot of paperwork to do in the office, she still gets the opportunity to drive police cars and help the community. She also gets to assist officers.
Mayor John Kimmel says the previous police chief served about 25 years in the department but decided to try new things.
“He’s got big shoes to fill but I think she is certainly up to the challenge. She’s energetic. She’s got some great ideas,” said Mayor John Kimmel.
Anderson says she’s not worried about being young as well as the first female chief.
She says she’s respected and hopes to help serve as a role model.
“I hope the younger youth within our community look up to me, e specially young girls and know that they’re able to do this job in the future if they like to,” said Anderson.
“The two roles she’s going to serve is obviously the function of the police chief but I think she’s going to be a great liaison to the city,” said Kimmel.
“I want people and citizens of the city of Arcadia to see us in a positive light and they understand whatever they need us for we’re here to help them,” said Anderson.
One year later: WCTC facility provides high level of training
August 20, 2012
From Patch.com: “One year later: WCTC facility provides high level of training” — PEWAUKEE — One year after it opened its doors, Waukesha County Technical College’s criminal justice training center in Pewaukee is getting strong reviews from area police officers.
The 20,000-square-foot facility, located at a former day care center, provides scenario-based training for police officers.
A recent evaluation of the program has ranged from comments such as “great facility” or “Can’t believe how high-tech it is.”
The Muskego Police trains officers there, and has also included the use of the facility to “train” citizens as part of its twice-yearly Citizens’ Academy.
“It has allowed us to the holistic scenario-based training,” said Brian Dorow, associate dean of the criminal justice program at the college. “We have received just an incredible response from the police officers that are training there. … It is the highest level of training where someone is actively learning when you are able to do the scenario based training. We actually try to replicate what an officer is going to encounter on the streets from start to finish.”
Before conducting exercises in which an officer may have to determine whether to use physical force against a suspect, the training program first does what it can to raise an officer’s heart rate and increase adrenaline before the officer responds to the calls. The trainers will present different variables during the calls.
“They are fatigued, they are breathing hard,” explained Dorow. “That is going a long way.”
About 3,000 officers from throughout southeastern Wisconsin have used the center. Police officers need 24 hours of continuing education in law enforcement training in order to maintain their certificates.
Waukesha Police Capt. Ron Oremus said his department uses the facility for in-service for annual training updates for its officers. It also gets a lot of use during new officer training.
“It is very helpful to have a facility like that,” said Oremus, who is an instructor during the training.
Before the center was located on Morris Street, the police department used a ranch-style home near WCTC. The training center’s an improvement when it comes to scenario-based trainings.
“I can tell you that while (the ranch-style home) is nice, it just didn’t have the room to train like the new facility does,” Oremus said.
The training center at WCTC could be even more enhanced in the future. Dorow said he wants to add the element of sound into the scenarios. It is not uncommon for area police to be called to scenes that have couples arguing or children crying.
Fox 11 News VIDEO: Training officers for danger: GRAND CHUTE – Have you ever wanted to see how an officer trains for danger? FOX 11′s Emily Deem spent Wednesday morning at the Fox Valley Technical College to learn the ins-and-outs of their training.
The police training at Fox Valley Technical College includes: Shooting range simulation technology, a state-of-the-art driving pad, Pursuit Intervention Techniques and more.
Moraine Park EMS students get ultimate emergency experience
August 8, 2012
From fdlreporter.com: “Moraine Park EMS students get ultimate emergency experience” — When a group of cyclists were “hit” by an oncoming vehicle in the parking lot of Moraine Park Technical College on Monday, students from its Basic Emergency Medical Technician course had to call for backup.
The Fond du Lac Fire Department, joined by EMT crews from Fond du Lac, Campbellsport and Allenton, rushed to the scene, followed closely by a Flight for Life medical helicopter.
But instead of saving lives this time, the goal was to provide realistic, hands-on learning for Basic EMT students preparing for a career in emergency medical services. As part of their capstone project before starting clinicals, the Moraine Park students had to successfully prep “victims” for transport.
With fake blood and ripped clothing, volunteers played the role of victims of the bike crash. The event simulated an emergency in which EMT students handled all aspects from dispatch to transfer, using skills they learned about patient assessment, airway management, respiratory and medical emergencies, trauma assessment and management, preparing patients for transport and coordinating with additional resources.
Todd Janquart, assistant chief of emergency medical services for the Fond du Lac Fire Department, attended the simulation to observe and provide guidance.
“This is a fantastic opportunity for everyone to learn and work together,” he said. “These future EMTs will be better prepared if a tragedy like the one we practiced today were to occur.”
Hannah Lindsley of North Fond du Lac is a student in Moraine Park’s Basic EMT course. She’s following in the footsteps of her father, Jim Lindsley, who has been an EMT for 25 years.
“We definitely know what we’re doing,” Lindsley said of her classmates in the course. “This experience helped us learn more about teamwork and how everyone has a role in an emergency situation like this one. I can’t wait to get started in an EMT career using these skills.”
A debriefing session took place after the simulation. Students had an opportunity to hear from the Fond du Lac Fire Department, Flight for Life and Fond du Lac area EMT crews. Emergency professionals had a discussion with students about how they handled their roles during the chaos of the event. The session allowed students, in a relaxed setting, to ask specific questions about their future EMT careers.
“The goal that we have as instructors at Moraine Park is to provide as much realistic training as possible for our students,” said John Gloede, the instructor for the EMT Basic students and a 22-year veteran as a paramedic. “We want them to be as field-ready as possible when they complete the courses offered and their state and national testing.”
This week’s training was a big step in that direction.
“I have a motto that I tell my students to think about on any and every call they go on: ‘Expect the worst, pray for the best and you can’t go wrong,’” Gloede said.
CampHERO for girls aims to battle career stereotypes
July 25, 2012
From madison.com: “CampHERO for girls aims to battle career stereotypes” – Hannah Lewis, 9, crept into a darkened room, squirt gun drawn, looking for her target, in this case, Madison Police Sgt. Jason Freedman.
She and her partner found him quickly, hiding beside a desk.
“It’s always the unknown we are worried about,” Columbus Police Chief Daniel Meister told a group of Girl Scouts playing cat-and-mouse in a unit on “police tactics” Tuesday during CampHERO.
The inaugural camp, being conducted in part this week at the Madison Area Technical College Fire Training Center, is intended to challenge the stereotypes inherent in male-dominated protective services professions and expose girls to firefighting, police work and other fields.
Freedman and Meister are two of 117 volunteers helping to put on the one-of-a-kind camp for local Girl Scouts from kindergarten through high school.
At one point, Meister tried to stifle a group of girls’ giggles as they entered an office area in the hunt for Freedman. “You’ve just lost your tactical advantage,” he told them.
By the end of the exercise, Hannah said she’d like to grow up to be a police officer. “I would get to help people and solve crimes,” she said.
Other camp activities included fingerprinting, CPR, first aid, ropes, extinguishers, dispatch, CSI, self-defense and learning how to handle fire hoses.
Lt. Jen Roman of the Madison Fire Department, the camp’s director, said that only 3.6 percent of fire professionals are female. It’s 13 percent for police and 35 percent for EMS.
“Culturally we have a gender bias — not just in protective services, but in all careers,” Roman said. “Research tells us by the time kids enter kindergarten they already have ideas about stereotypical gender roles.”
One hundred and sixty girls are taking part in the camp, offered this week and last, said Christine Posey of Girl Scouts of Wisconsin-Badgerland Council.
“Our job as Girl Scouts is to build young leaders, young women who have courage, confidence and character,” Posey said. “They are going to feel like they can go into these fields.”
If Hannah Lewis, who will be in fourth grade at Yahara Elementary in DeForest, was convinced, Sarah Blumer, 10, already had her mind made up. The soon-to-be fifth-grader from Monticello knew she wanted to be a firefighter like her dad.
“I don’t really have to think on that. It’s a definite yes,” she said.
Carolanne Trilling, 23, who has been a Madison firefighter almost two years, said she was about Sarah’s age when she made her decision.
“It runs in my family, too. The seed was definitely planted in my head,” Trilling said. “What they are doing here is probably the best thing you can do in your community for a group of girls.”
From wqow.com: “First Hmong woman in Wisconsin earns law enforcement certification” – For one local student, the graduation march is not only significant because of the certification she’s earned but the barriers she is breaking.
Shoua Bauer, from Altoona, is the first Hmong female in Wisconsin to earn a law enforcement certification, and only the second in the entire country. Friday she received her certificate from Chippewa Valley Technical College.
Shoua Bauer, was presented with her law enforcement certification. She is the first Hmong female in Wisconsin to go into the field.
CVTC Graduate, Shoua Bauer, says, “This is a really hands on, dirty, gritty job that we were taught from a young age this is mens work and then there’s girls work. And I think it’s one of those things where we’re still really new to the country and still changing into the American culture and I think that’s one of the reasons why we don’t see too many Hmong females in this type of profession.”
For a long time, Shoua kept her training a secret.
“I didn’t tell anybody until my dad passed away, it was actually the day before he passed away that I told him I was going into law enforcement” says Bauer.
In 2008 Shoua’s dad passed away suddenly from a heart attack, but she says she is happy she was able to tell him.
She says, “He was supportive, the only thing he wanted me to do was remember, who I was, where I came from, and don’t get a power trip.
“My dad’s final words to me were, leadership is not a position you have, it’s in the actions that you take.” These are the words Shoua shared with her classmates during their graduation ceremony. She was chosen by her peers to be their class leader throughout training.
“She’s a lot of things that were very important to the academy, through communication and leadership. She did a lot of mentoring with the students and helping other students and at the same time she’s trying to get herself through the academy. She’s stepping up and being a mentor and a leader to others” says, CVTC Law Enforcement Academy Director, Eric Anderson.
Shoua stands at 4-feet 10-inches, and as she prepares to enter the work force, she has concerns.
“I am not intimidating appearance wise by any means. I fear that I many not set the right impression to be a law enforcement officer, I do worry about that” says Bauer.
But what has Shoua excited about her career path is one of the reasons she pursued law enforcement in the first place ….. The chance to help other people in the Hmong culture.
“There’s the Hmong females out there that do need help and sometimes they’re not comfortable with speaking to those, to those guys, and so I think by me brining myself out there, I will be saying, hey, it’s ok. You can talk to me, you can talk to anybody out there” says Bauer.
Shoua says she would like to stay in the area and has been applying for jobs. Eventually, she would like to be a canine officer.
